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Reviews by dgallina:

1 pint, 9 fluid ounce brown bottle without freshness dating. Poured clear mahogany with no head or lace whatsoever. Sugary molasses, caramel, a touch of burnt toast, clove, and alcohol in the nose. Very clean, but nearly empty of flavor; slightly sweet syrupy malts up front with hot fusel alcohol finish. Almost still oily and syrupy body. Not a beer I'll revisit. The aroma is OK, but the flavor is almost entirely missing apart from the over-strong alcohol.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy mahogany with a orange highlights and a thick head that splashes some lace around

Smell: Muscat-soaked raisins, fruitcake spice and a hint of tobacco

Taste: Opens with raisin, caramel and allspice flavors; by mid-palate, there is a bit of brown sugar sweetness that comes into focus; but the surprise is when the tobacco arrives, after the swallow, to add another dimension

Mouthfeel: Medium body with mild, creamy carbonation

Drinkability: By keeping the cloying tendencies in check, this beer ranks among the better doppelbocks out there

Dark walnut brown (with generous orange highlights) that becomes dusky ruby when backlit. The head is the color of toasted wheat and is a good contrast to the lucent liquid on which it sits. A short collar of lace has appeared, with more, perhaps, to follow once the stubborn cap finally relents.

The nose is gently roasted malty, dark fruity and lightly spicy. It isn't as bombastic as the biggest members of the style, but it's enjoyable all the same. Actually, repeated sniffs convince me that this is one of the spicier doppels that I've smelled. It'd be nice if that characteristic translates to the palate.

Curator is full of flavor and is a wonderful example of the style. As I'd hoped, it tastes like it smells, for the most part. I often forget that doppelbocks are lagers and shouldn't really be stout-like in the mouth. While this one isn't the biggest doppel in the race, it's in the lead pack.

Sweet, well-roasted barley is the unchallenged focal point. There aren't a huge number of accessory flavors bathing the taste buds, but then there doesn't need to be when the beer is this well-crafted. Buttery figs, dark caramel, cracked coffee bean and a wee smattering of cinnamon play supporting roles is this impressively complex lager. Delicious.

I don't know why Klosterbrauerei Ettal decided to give the American import version a higher ABV, but the alcohol is so well-buried that it doesn't really matter. If it helps depth of flavor, so much the better. The mouthfeel is medium-full with an impressive amount of lightly silky smoothness. The next highest score is only a hair's breadth away.

Ettaler Curator Dunkler Doppelbock is fantastic and should be enjoyed by lovers of quality doppelbocks and by most others as well. The fact that the recipe was created by Benedictine monks in 1609 proves that good beer is timeless.

Poured a deep dark brown with some reddish hue with fluffy off-white one finger head,first thing that stuck out to me in the nose was the smokiness that goes along with the dark fruit and brown sugar and caramel sweetness the alcohol whafted a little but its not strong.Sweet up front quite sweet in fact raisins and caramel with some dark brown sugar as well a little bit of an alcohol burn going down.I notice just a slight spiciness and earthy note in the finish,its a smooth,slick doppelbock glides down easily if you like big malty sweet beers to me this would be a good winter sipper to take the chill off I ll be looking for this again come December I think.

Appearance – This is a nice, shiny brown in color with some orangish hues. The head is a gorgeous whitish-brown and very dark and beautiful.

Smell – The malts are raw and unadulterated as they should be and there’s a bit of spicing to this bad boy. There’s some dark fruity sweetness here as well but this one is all about the malt as it should be.

Taste – This is a heavy-hitter. The raw molasses and heavy spicing fill the palate with explosive flavors and the dark fruits, which are rich but not overly sweet, hit the taste buds before the liquid even gets to the lips. The wonderful malt flavor is right on style and the spices, though a bit unique for a DB, provide a welcome compliment.

Mouthfeel – This is just shy of medium-bodied though you may want to call it that and of course flat with some lingering bitterness.

Drinkability – This is one of the best DBs that I’ve had here in the US. A lot of people don’t understand how this style should be, it’s relatively thin and lacks complexity, but if you want a lesson buy this beer. This sample has some big spicing that, while thoroughly enjoyed, I don’t remember the character in Bavaria. Other than that, this is a classic example of the style.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1 pint .9oz bottle into a dimpled mug. The abv is listed at 9% and there is no freshness date.

Appearance: It has a dark brown, almost black body with deep reddish highlights. On top it has a small one finger tall tan head which quickly fades to a ring of foam around the edge of with a thin film covering. Buy the end there was no head at all and lacing was nil.

Taste/Palate: It has a firm full body with a heavy slick texture and light carbonation. This gives it a coating effect with its deep rich malty sweetness. For me it seems a bit too sweet but complex as well. It has notes of deep caramelized sugar, bread crust, light toast, brown sugar, raison and lots of prune notes. It finishes with lots of residual sweetness then a short herbal/leafy/earthy bitterness which struggles to add some sense of balance.

Notes: For me it was a bit on the sweet side and yet it full of complexity which I do like.

Pours a clear dark chestnut body with a generous beige head that hangs around forever. Solid patchy lacing. Aroma is toffee, fruitcake, and brown sugar. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Taste is malty waves of toffee, brown sugar, and a hint of chocolate. Notes of port and what seems like fruity hops add a nice complexity. Very little hop bitterness. Alcohol is hidden quite well. Not as heavy as anticipated and much more drinkable. A very nice German doppelbock.

Purchased at Stateline with Robert's recommendation. Proust! Pours with a thin head. Almost black in color. Very sweet nose. Malty and sweet in flavor with some fruit in it. Very drinkable with the ABV. Smooth mouthfeel. A good dopple which I will be purchasing again.

L: The beer pours brilliant auburn with ruby highlights generating very little head with poor retention. Very tiny bubbles continue to slowly rise to the surface.

T: It starts mildly sweet with traces of light roast, toast, nuts, and dense dark bread. Some anise or horehound flavors along with the malt recall Dr. Pepper. Some soft alcohol flavors meld with malt derived dark dried fruit. the finish is on the sweet side.

When this beer first arrived in the States in 2006, I bought some and thought it had an unusual, spicy character...almost like a weizenbock.

I haven't had it since then until now in June 2008. (I wiped out my old review and replaced it with this one.) This new bottle tastes much more like a traditional doppelbock than what I found back then. I'm not sure if the difference is with me or with this bottle. Whatever the case, I like this bottle quite a bit better. This brew (still) pours with almost no head, but the aroma is nice. It smells sweet with a dark, dried, fruit aroma. The taste further expands on the aroma. The body is quite heavy, and there's very little carbonation. There's a slight spiciness, but otherwise it tastes of long-boiled toffee/melanoidin malts and dark stewed fruit. This beer definitely has "that special German bock character" which rarely seems to find its way into bock beers produced in other countries. It has that lovely dark, malty flavor, but without a roasted character which you sometimes find in other inferior non-German bock beers. This Curator is the real deal. Add some more carbonation and this d-bock might be one of my all-time favorite bocks.

A - a dark, clear mahogany brown with excellent reddish-orange highlightSmall head of limited duration.

Aroma: The nose is mainly roasted malts with hints of dark fruits and a dose of spiciness. After a little warming, the higher ABV starts to become more apparent -- it was more or less completely hidden when cold -- and more spice notes appear.

Curator Dopplebock is very flavorful. It tastes like it smells, for the most part, although there's a richness to the roasted malt flavor that exceeds the expectation built on aroma. The high ABV is partly hidden and hicely integrated with the other flavor components.
Sweet, well-roasted barley is the dominant flavor, withenough minor spicy, floral and brandy notes to make for a satisfying level of complexity. Too sweet, at first, but a more bitter ant earthy toasted malt flavor soon takes over.

The mouthfeel is medium-full with an impressive smoothness.

O - I stopped at this Kloster about 4 years ago, but was unable to sample the beer there because it was a Sunday. Glad to have thechance some years later, even if now getting a bottle rather than a fresh draft. Well, this bottled beer is good but slightly disappointing; I still want to make a return visit to sample the beers on tap at the source. You should too: the monastery is wonderful. Meanwhile, this brew does taste like it is actually from a recipe from Benedictine monks in 1609.

This beer is the typical dark brown of a doppel with red highlights. It develops an eggshell-colored head just over a finger tall that fades off a bit quickly but not too much, leaving a pretty thick foam that deposits spotty lacing as it recedes.
The smell offers up the dark fruits I expect along with the typical molasses note, with more of a raisin than anything and a sugary but not cloying sweetness. There's a touch of cocoa and roast here as well. Just enough hops to balance add a b it of a floral note and possibly a ghost of spiciness.
The flavor's a bit lighter than I expected; everything from the nose is here, but with less force. It ends up being a bit too mellow for the style.
The feel is likewise light; this could use just a touch more thickness and body. Otherwise it's pretty smooth.

Pours a ruby-tinted brown, with very little head, and little dabs of lace here and there. Rolls around in the glass with an almost syrupy patience.

Nose is semi-sweet and vinous; dark berry, lots of fig, cocoa. A slight bit of alcohol helps give it an edge. The marriage of toasted malt sweetness and succulent dark fruits is outstanding in depth and balance.

Big flavor here, with superb balance. Juicy, succulent fig is the highlight, followed by dark berry, light nut husk, molasses and a gooey yet subtle layer of chocolate syrup. Very grape-y throughout, and yet again the word "juicy" comes to mind. Grape bubblegum, grape juice, red wine, many variations on the mighty purple fruit are right here in this righteous doppelbock. And I can't forget the big bready doughy pumpernickel vibe. Earthy, almost woody finish, but far from dry, with tartness creeping in but ultimately keeping the whistle wet and glazed; has an almost holiday-like feel. Germany's equivalent of those big holiday Belgians? Sort of.

Slick and soft in the mouth...buttery, lightly syrupy, just the right balance of carbonation. Remarkably smooth.

Curator might be the biggest ABV German beer I've ever had. That won't make any beer an automatic winner, but in this case the higher alcohol highlights a recipe that's apparently generous with the ingredients. And wouldn't you know, with all that flavor I hardly noticed the alcohol, which is merely a bit player in the flavor. Big malts rule here; its complexity and depth make this a must-try for any fan of German beers, no matter the style. Das ist ein zehr gutes bier!